1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a door lock device for vehicles.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
One of the conventional door lock devices is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Print No. Hei.10(1998A.D.)-37559 published without examination. This door lock device includes a base plate having a horizontal wall to which a door lock body is connected and a vertical wall which is substantially perpendicular to the horizontal wall, a rotation lever rotatably connected to the vertical wall of the base plate, a key lever rotatably connected to an actuator housing secured to the vertical wall of the base plate, and a connecting link connecting the key lever and the rotation lever, wherein rotating the rotation lever causes a linear movement of the connecting link with the result of a rotation of the key lever.
In the foregoing door lock device, one end of the connecting link is fitted in a hole of the rotation lever so as to establish a connection between the connecting link and the rotation lever, while an operating connection between the connecting link and the key lever is established in such a manner that the other end of the connecting lever is fitted in a hole of an intermediate member connected to the key lever.
However, for establishing the operating connection between the key lever and the connecting link, an intermediate member is required which is in the form of a member separate from the key lever, which results in an increase of the number of parts. Moreover, to ensure the fitting connection between each of the opposite ends of the connecting link and the hole of the corresponding member, a suitable device such as an E-ring is required, thereby causing assembly of the door lock device to be relatively cumbersome.